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Seven players the Rangers could lose to the Kraken

By Daniel Blanda

MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 27: Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers skates against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period at the Bell Centre on February 27, 2020 in Montreal, Canada. The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 27: Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers skates against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period at the Bell Centre on February 27, 2020 in Montreal, Canada. The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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A look at who the New York Rangers may lose in the Seattle Expansion Draft and why.

With Free Agency more or less over, the Rangers can now set their sights on the upcoming season. With the team starting to form a concrete and competitive identity, there’s still one major event that will not only reshape the team but the league in its entirety. I’m not talking about the second or third wave of the pandemic, which appears to be inevitable at this point…

No, I’m talking about the 2020-21 real-life video game that is the Seattle Expansion Draft. An event that is so momentous that it will inevitably leave more than one beloved Ranger exposed for Seattle’s choosing.

Expansion draft rules abridged

As a friendly reminder:

Seattle must draft from all 30 teams (except Vegas).

Each team will be able to select one of two options:

  • Protect seven forwards: three defensemen and one goalie
  • Protect eight skaters (forwards or defensemen) and one goalie

All first and second-year professional players as well as unsigned draft choices will be exempt from the draft.

Any players with a “No Movement” clause in their contracts must be protected unless they waive the clause.

Every team MUST expose two forwards and one defenseman who are under contract for the 2021-22 season and played in at least 40 NHL games the prior year or 70 NHL games in the two prior years, as well as a goaltender who is either under contract for 2021-22 or is an RFA.

Any player who is injured and has missed more than 60 consecutive games prior to the draft cannot be used to satisfy the three exposure requirements just described.

What that means for the Rangers

It almost goes without saying that the Rangers will choose to protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie. With the strength of their defense, the other option doesn’t make sense. All things considered, the Rangers find themselves in a desirable situation for the Seattle Expansion Draft. Their most coveted prospects are all off the table; meaning you can go ahead and purchase your Igor Shesterkin Retro-reverse jersey without worry.

Shesterkin, Kaapo Kakko, Alex Lafrenière, Adam Fox, Vitali Kravtsov, K’Andre Miller, Morgan Barron, Matthew Robertson, Tarmo Reunanen, and Yegor Rykov are the majority of prospects that are untouchable. So, regardless, the future is safe.

Kaapo Kakko #24 of the New York Rangers takes a shot in the first period against the New York Islanders during an exhibition game.
Kaapo Kakko #24 of the New York Rangers (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images) /

Three words: No. Movement. Clause.

Four players: Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, and Jacob Trouba. All four of them have to be protected because of the NMC. The Rangers would have protected all four of these players, anyway, but it is required. No one should be surprised or upset about this.

This means that there are up to seven additional protection slots available: four forwards, two defensemen, and one netminder. We can assume that New York will protect Ryan Strome, Tony DeAngelo, and Alexandar Georgiev. That’s an assumption, of course, but at this point in time, it’s probable.

That only leaves four additional slots (three forwards and one defenseman) for seven potential candidates. This means the Rangers are going to be using this season (whatever it ends up looking like) to thoroughly examine the players in contention. So, simply put, these seven players are essentially in tryouts.

The list that follows is a ranking from least likely to most likely taken by the Seattle Kraken. In reverse, it’s the players most likely to least likely to be protected by the Rangers.

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